For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. PhIL 2:13

This last year of taking classes flew by, even with driving up to campus in January and June. I had the great pleasure of studying everything from the mission of the church to preaching Old Testament texts to doing ministry with person with mental illness. What an incredible last three semesters! In January 2018, I … Continue reading Coursework Complete!

This spring semester was my last spring semester at seminary. I have two courses to take during summer intensives in June and then my one-year internship to complete. Being my last full semester, I had high hopes for a wonderful experience. However, in early March I was hit by the unexpected, literally. Without going into … Continue reading A Wrecked Semester?

Whatever stage of life you are in, you are probably feeling the intense pressures that we are under as a society. We are under a barrage of constant bad news, stress at our jobs, and tensions in our interpersonal relationships. While there is much that is good and much that is just neutral, the constant … Continue reading Focus on Your Mental Health

My third year of seminary started on a hopeful, wonderful note that gave no indication of what was to come. I had just experienced two months off from school, so I was only working during that time. This meant I had time to really rest in the evenings and to travel to see friends. It … Continue reading 2017 Review: Fall Semester

As the year winds down, I am reflecting on something that was both difficult and important for me in 2017. There were numerous things that I had to let go of in my schedule, habits, and life in order to manage and adapt. Ultimately, God taught me to forsake some things to make room for … Continue reading Making Space: What I Let Go of in 2017

This year, the intensive classes on campus really started to wear me down. We have to take 10 credits on campus. Since our classes are worth either .5 or 1 credit, that translates to at least 10 classes, if not more. For me, this has meant a total of eight trips to campus so far, … Continue reading 2017 Review: June Intensives

After a successful intensive in January, I had a few weeks to finish up coursework and prepare for my spring semester to start in February. My preaching course continued into the spring. As part of the class, I wrote and preached two sermons at my church. Research, study, writing, and presenting in public are some … Continue reading 2017 Review: Spring Semester

In January I drove the now all too familiar, long drive up to Luther Seminary. I stayed a week and took two courses. In the morning I had a class on books like Revelation and one on preaching in the afternoon. The class that featured a study of apocalyptic texts like the Book of … Continue reading 2017 Review: January Intensives

CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) is a required part of my ordination process and my time at seminary. I did one unit of CPE at a level 1 trauma center in the urban core of my city in the summer of 2016. This translated to a summer of intensive work in which I served as an … Continue reading 2017 Review: CPE Art Show

I am currently working on a lot of writing projects including two feature articles for the seminary magazine, but I wanted to stop and share what I am working on right now for my Greek exegesis class. One of my classes this semester is a Greek exegesis course that focuses on the Gospel of Mark. … Continue reading Exegesis